Another major injury for Washington, as they become only the second team this season to lose their starting quarterback for the year. Also, the Chargers lose another starting defender, the Eagles are again in danger of running out of cornerbacks, and the Buccaneers likely lose a member of their vaunted receiving corps for a while.

This week's Audibles features a huge road comeback for the Steelers in Jacksonville; a huge swing in playoff chances in the NFC East; and two wins for road underdogs from the AFC West. Also: adventures in Buccaneers quarterbacking, Week 11 edition.

The last time the Packers visited Seattle, a berth in the Super Bowl at stake. The stakes aren't quite as high on Thursday night, but the loser is still going to be in dire straights in a crowded NFC playoff race. Other big games this weekend include Houston-Washington, Minnesota-Chicago on Sunday night, and this year's Game of the Century, the Chiefs facing the Rams in Mexico City Los Angeles. Use this thread to discuss them all.

Big wins mean big movement in our DVOA ratings, with Pittsburgh jumping up from 11th to fifth and big moves for Green Bay, Tennessee, and Buffalo as well. We also explore the history of the DVOA Bowl as No. 1 prepares to meet No. 2, and jump into the workings of DVOA to try to figure out why New Orleans doesn't rank higher in our metric.

The Chiefs hit the DVOA sweet spot against Cleveland on Sunday, shooting their ratings up so they now rank among the best teams ever in both offensive and total team DVOA after nine weeks. The Patriots, Falcons, and 49ers also rise this week.

The Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams still are on top of our DVOA ratings, but this week the Chiefs pass the Rams as our new Super Bowl favorite. The reasons? Schedule strength, fumble recovery luck, and the presence of the best first-year starting quarterback in NFL history.

The Chiefs are the NFL's highest-scoring team, but they're not perfect. Derrik Klassen shows how the Arizona Cardinals used press coverage and unorthodox blitz packages to frustrate Patrick Mahomes and company -- and explains why it still wasn't enough in the end.

Don't look now, but Matt Ryan's on fire, Calvin Ridley and Julio Jones are getting open, Steve Sarkisian is making things easier for everyone, and the Falcons are playing their best football since the first half of Super Bowl LI.

The Eagles quarterback's numbers are way down from those of his 2017 MVP-caliber campaign, but Derrik Klassen shows he is still doing amazing things -- and the personnel moves Philadelphia made this week could help him in many ways.

San Francisco has fallen out of the playoff race, which means this will be the last time they appear in Word of Muth this year -- which is too bad, because between scheme, talent, and execution, they were one of the better offensive lines in the league this season.

After a very slow start to the year, the Falcons have won three in a row to get back to .500. Offensive line expert Ben Muth shows how the offensive line led the way to Atlanta's biggest win of the year.

A bad loss to Seattle and the trade of Golden Tate seem to have signaled the end of the competitive portion of Detroit's season. Ben Muth shows that the offensive line is not the cause of the Lions' struggles -- but it's not likely to be the solution, either.

Ben Roethlisberger's thrashing of Carolina was the best game of the week -- but not, surprisingly, the best game of the year. We explain and look at the best and worst quarterback games since 1989. Plus the best passers, runners, and receivers of Week 10.

You won't find many quarterbacks who mix good plays and bad plays as frequently as Jameis Winston, which is why he has been benched for Ryan Fitzpatrick -- but that may not matter, because Fitzpatrick tends to run hot and cold himself. We explain, and detail the best passers, runners, and receivers of Week 8.

This week's Audibles features a huge road comeback for the Steelers in Jacksonville; a huge swing in playoff chances in the NFC East; and two wins for road underdogs from the AFC West. Also: adventures in Buccaneers quarterbacking, Week 11 edition.

Dominating wins for the Saints, the Titans (?), and the Bills (?!?) headline Week 10, but the closer wins might be the most significant. The Bears, Colts, Rams, and Cowboys all pick up important victories inside their divisions as the playoff race heats up. Your Audibles crew shares their thoughts.

A series of blowouts in the early window gives way to three tight contests in the afternoon, including a Game of the Year contender in New Orleans. Your Audibles crew discusses another bad, bad day for the Bills offense; an historic day for the Vikings pass rush; and another dynamic offensive show in Carolina.

Once upon a time, not so long ago, Bryan and Andrew made some preseason predictions as to the major award winners in the 2018 season. With half the season gone by, they're down on their luck. It's tough. So tough.

Alex Vigderman of Sports Info Solutions introduces Total Points, a tool for player evaluation. Like DVOA, it starts with play-by-play data, but then it adds charting information to more accurately measure the contributions of each player on the field. And it will tell you that Matt Ryan has been the NFL's best quarterback for several years now.

The Ohio State Buckeyes have one of the most talented rosters in college football. Their opponents, however, do not. Guest columnist Akshay Ramprakash looks at the caliber of athlete at every school to see which teams are heavyweights and which are punching bags.

McKenzie Milton and the Central Florida Knights are undefeated -- but did the College Football Playoff committee hand them a loss before the season even started? Brian Fremeau examines strength of schedule and what it says about Group of 5 schools in the rankings.

After feasting on cupcakes all season, Irv Smith and Alabama finally got hold of the main course ... and they devoured LSU 29-0. There's no doubt that the Crimson Tide are the best team in the land, but what has happened to college football's upper middle class? Brian Fremeau investigates.

Thanks to the scoring of playmakers such as wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, the Alabama Crimson Tide have yet to play a meaningful fourth quarter this season. Brian Fremeau looks at which teams have most frequently been playing in garbage time in the analysis of his latest college football rankings.

Hope you have access to the Longhorn Network; it's the only place to watch Hakeem Butler and the Iowa State Cyclones take on Texas in a key Big 12 matchup that's the most important game of the week. Other key games include Notre Dame-Syracuse, West Virginia-Oklahoma State, and Central Florida-Cincinnati.

Yes, Georgia-Kentucky, West Virginia-Texas, and Penn State-Michigan are all critical conference matchups. But all eyes will be on Baton Rouge, where the Alabama Crimson Tide face their first stiff test this season against Joe Burrow and LSU.

Tom Brady and the New England offense are taking on some water. Is this the end of the line, or one of those many ends of the line you've heard about before that wasn't actually the end of the line? And what got into Tennessee's passing offense after the bye?

This week: players on new teams, players in new positions, players paying tribute to old players, old players unhappy with new players, new players unhappy with each other, players enjoying beer bashes, and a little bit of potty mouth.

The Packers and Seahawks bring drama back to Thursday Night Football. Were those really catches by the Seahawks, and what are these numbers that Mike McCarthy is going by to punt the ball away with one timeout?

Is time just a flat circle in the NFC East? Jason Garrett ends another short losing streak and the Eagles fail to close again. Also: Rams sweep Seattle, the Giants distance themselves from the No. 1 pick, and the final nail in Jacksonville's coffin is not a Blake Bortles turnover.

Another major injury for Washington, as they become only the second team this season to lose their starting quarterback for the year. Also, the Chargers lose another starting defender, the Eagles are again in danger of running out of cornerbacks, and the Buccaneers likely lose a member of their vaunted receiving corps for a while.

Recent Articles

San Francisco has fallen out of the playoff race, which means this will be the last time they appear in Word of Muth this year -- which is too bad, because between scheme, talent, and execution, they were one of the better offensive lines in the league this season.

It's time for our semiannual list of Top 25 Prospects: lower-round and undrafted players who we think can make an impact in the next few seasons. This midseason list is led by Maurice Hurst of the Raiders and also includes the likes of Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Phillp Lindsay along with two Houston Texans in the top five.

The Packers and Seahawks bring drama back to Thursday Night Football. Were those really catches by the Seahawks, and what are these numbers that Mike McCarthy is going by to punt the ball away with one timeout?

Alex Vigderman of Sports Info Solutions introduces Total Points, a tool for player evaluation. Like DVOA, it starts with play-by-play data, but then it adds charting information to more accurately measure the contributions of each player on the field. And it will tell you that Matt Ryan has been the NFL's best quarterback for several years now.

Chicago is the better team by DVOA, but Minnesota is coming off the bye week and gets Stefon Diggs back. At ESPN+ Chalk, we look at what the Vikings need to do in order to upset the Bears in an important NFC North meeting. Cover Watch looks at the Monday Chiefs-Rams game.

Hope you have access to the Longhorn Network; it's the only place to watch Hakeem Butler and the Iowa State Cyclones take on Texas in a key Big 12 matchup that's the most important game of the week. Other key games include Notre Dame-Syracuse, West Virginia-Oklahoma State, and Central Florida-Cincinnati.

The Chiefs are the NFL's highest-scoring team, but they're not perfect. Derrik Klassen shows how the Arizona Cardinals used press coverage and unorthodox blitz packages to frustrate Patrick Mahomes and company -- and explains why it still wasn't enough in the end.